WERTHEIMER: Mills is no novice, when it comes to meeting politicians. Homemades by Suzanne was the site of another candidate visit, back in 2008.

MILLS: We had Sarah Palin, you know, four years ago.

WERTHEIMER: And Palin didn't just drop in for a few seconds...

MILLS: But - I had about a 20-minute conversation with her. She actually came after business hours. And she did have a chicken salad sandwich, and - you know, I think a chicken salad sandwich, coffee and a Diet Coke, and that was about it.

WERTHEIMER: In fact, the café is a favorite for Virginia political players - governors and senators, among them.

WERTHEIMER: Mills says she isn't surprised that Ashland is a popular destination for politicians. It's a fantastic place to live, and work.

MILLS: It's a beautiful town. It's a small town. It's got a lot of small businesses that have been thriving through the economical woes, for the last few years. And it's just a great town.

WERTHEIMER: In fact, when Mills learned that Romney would be stopping by as part of his tour of Virginia, Mills said the whole town pitched in to help.

MILLS: Power-washing, painting, planting flowers; things like that. Everyone's real excited to have, you know, a political figure come to the town of Ashland. It's such a great town.

WERTHEIMER: But Mills says they did not change their menu for the Romney visit.

MILLS: Well, we have our normal menu. And we'll have smoked salmon. And we have like, a beef tenderloin wrap and - you know, things like that.

WERTHEIMER: Who will be eating that food, is still up in the air.

MILLS: We are feeding the press, and we are feeding the people on his bus. Now, whether that involves the Secret Service - I do not know.

WERTHEIMER: Mills suspects that politicians like visiting her deli so much because the food is good, but also because of the way they run the place.

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MILLS: WERTHEIMER: The stop at Homemades by Suzanne, is just the first of many such visits Romney and Ryan will be making over the next four days. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.